Final pages of the Christmas Journal!

Yes, it's March already... and the last prompt was Jan 6th... so?
The main thing is I GOT IT FINISHED!
YES!
Time for a quick happy dance!
Wooo hooo!

So here are my last pages for your viewing pleasure:

Year 2005 in review.

Thoughts on the New Year, I painted the KI letters with a glittery layer.

Hopes and feelings on the change of another year.

My take on innocence. To believe or not to believe? ;o)

Fave moment of the season was when the tree was brought in.

Next year, I have to remember to chill and relax.

Packing Christmas away for 11 months.

Joulu= Christmas.

Here it is.. in all its glory!

I've also uploaded all the pages to my gallery at 2Peas in two parts:
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=792844 and http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=792847 .

Random Monday madness

- the truckdrivers are on strike. This means buses are far and few between (luckily not in my area, so I can still get Saara to school and back). Stores will be slow to get stock. And worst of all... no garbage pick up! My pick up day is Tuesday... I suppose this is the point when I count my blessings that I have a BIG 'garbage can' (not really a can.. more like a huge boxy thing) that will hold I think three weeks worth of garbage bags. And yes... it might be three weeks before this strike ends.

- your toes get deep frozen when you stand in -6C (21F) weather waiting for your kid to finish tobogganing for 45 minutes.

- have I mentioned it has snowed on every single day in March so far? In January it was all about unseasonally warm weather.. now it's all about unseasonally cold weather. It's supposed to be spring damn it.

- Cathy Z and Donna D are hilarious. How do I know? I just listened to a podcast you can download on Cathy's blog http://www.cathyzielske.typepad.com/ Those two had me giggling while I shoveled snow.

- Tia http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/userprofile.asp?user_id=166407 rocks. She got me out of a Cactus-Pink-uninspired-rut by raving about buttons. Yes, I know it all sounds vague, but I can't show you until April 1st. No April fools either. You just have to be patient. Oh and I guess the concensus was that in fact we both totally rock. *grin*

- week two of chauffering my mom is interfering with my schedule. You know the schedule of cleaning toilets and ironing... ha!

- I got my 2Peas PUB cookbook in the mail today!!! How very exciting.

- it was a good mail day (well except for my cell phone bill). Thank You Karen for sending me the Pottery Barn kids and teen catalogs!

- I need a shoulder massage badly.

- what on earth do I make for dinner today?
DUH. Didn't I just get a cookbook in the mail?

- I hate starting the week by going to the grocery store. But.. we are out of milk, bread and food in general.

- did you know that 3 girls (aged 10, 10 and 5) having a pillowfight upstairs on a Saturday night can drive you to the gin bottle? Yes, it really can.

- have to go grab a snack before driving to get my mom. See ya!

Unfinished stuff

..it just bothers me when I can't finish projects I've started.

Like the quilt I've been making for Saara for..oh...seven years now..
Sad isn't it.
Saara just asked me the other day when I'd finish it.
I better grit my teeth and get it done.
I hereby promise that it WILL be done by Christmas.
Promise.

But before I tackle that I am finishing something else.
The Christmas journal I had 8 pages undone.
I got 5 of them done tonight.
3 more tomorrow.

Feels good.

Go get inspired!

*edited* fixed the link!

At the March AMLT gallery:
http://amillionlittlethings.com/gallery/index.php?cat=13

Totally worth your time!
I promise.

Spring, feel free to join us...anytime...

Every year when March rolls in I yearn for spring.
We do have lovely bright sunshine today.
Shining on 5cm (2 inches) of new powder snow... and it's -10C (14F).

All I'm saying is it would be sooo lovely to start April with no snow. And a spring jacket.

I'm procrastinating here.
I should be loading my mom's laundry in the washer.
I should be doing my pilates excercise.
I should be scrapping.
I should be emptying the dishwasher.
I should be folding laundry.
I should be anywhere but the computer.

But.

Can't think of a good excuse.
Oh heck.
That means I should stop procrastinating, right?

Glue, cows and chocolate eggs

I started today by dropping Niina to preschool and going shopping. I mean just for fun shopping. The best kind. I met up with a friend at a craft/gift store and got myself some much needed glues. Then we drove to get some coffee and looked around at our equivalent of Target. I absolutely had to buy these sheets for Saara and Niina. It was love at first sight!

Just look at those funky cows! And they all have lovely french names :o) I bought a sheet to go with this that is the same green as the cow on the lower right corner. Funny how excited you can get over sheets...

After the fun shopping it was time to pick up Niina and head to do some necessary shopping at the grocery store. Haven't done a big run like that in a while. But now my pantry is stocked up...for a while.
Just when is Easter this year? March or April? I need to check. hang on... running to get my calendar...
-
-
-
OK, so Easter Sunday is April 16th.
Just had to check since the Easter candy was all out. Niina was happy dancing after seeing Disney princess chocolate eggs. I better get some for her basket LOL.

Before home had to stop at the pharmacy to pick up chickenpox vaccination for Saara. Her school nurse will give her that tomorrow. I figured since she hadn't had it by now, it was time to vaccinate. But ouch. 61 euros ($72)!

Quite an ordinary day here. I still need to put away the rest of the groceries and do a little ironing. And maybe, just maybe I'll get some scrapping mojo. I need me some patterned paper therapy.

This hurts.

I really think this photo says it all.
Our and the team's hopes were so high.
Our very talented hockey team ended up with the medal that no one in hockey wants. The fact remains; gold is won, silver lost.

If it were a clear loss, but it was sooo close. 3-2.
And it was the Olympic final.
Against the Swedes.
That is just adding insult to injury.

Might not be a big deal for someone in the US, but for us... games against Sweden are always a big deal. The love/hate thy neighbor deal. Next time... just wait til next time...

So alas, no glory. Not even in curling... the Canadians totally whipped us. I couldn't but admire their skill. Truly.

But that is enough sports, the games are over. Life returns back to normal.

Last week was winter break. The kids spent tue-sat at my in-laws. I wish I had taken my camera along on Saturday when we went to pick them up. My father-in-law had come up with a fun sport. Have any of you seen this before?

We call it a kick-sled. I had a red one when I was a kid.
At this point I have to add that my in-laws live in the country.
Mikko tied two of these with rope behind the tractor... and off to the snowy/icy field they went.
Shrieking with glee all the way.
I'm still kicking myself for not having my camera.

But like I said, life is back to normal.. off to do laundry.

Hooked on 16 stones sliding

Tonight at 6.30pm I'll be glued to the tv, amazed at the accuracy of the curl and hoping M-15 will bring home the gold!

Huh? (Yes, I heard you... what on earth is she talking about?)

Curling.
Sport of the hour here.
16 stones, 10 ends, 8 players, brushes and a rink.

A sport I rarely see on tv. Now that our men's team is doing so well in Torino, it's getting lots of airtime. Well deserved I say. No blood, sweat or tears on ice. Accuracy. And skill. Amazing accuracy and skill. A gentleman's sport.

M-15? That's him, the skip of the team.
Why M-15? A nickname given to him by the British team... counting his first initial and all the letters in his last name amounts to 15. Markku Uusipaavalniemi. Hey, it's a mouthful for us too LOL!

This photo is of the semifinal where they beat the Brits with the last stone in the 10th end.
Wow. That was one skilled skip. And this is about as rowdy as it gets in curling... heheheee.
I'm hoping to see them go all the way to gold tonight as they play against Canada.
They've already won them once in these games.

And right after that final is the semifinal hockey game Finland vs Russia.
Now that is a tougher nut to crack.
The USA game was enjoyable to watch, even if the last period was painful and I kept glacing at the clock to see if it would finally end...

Ended up 4-3 for us, could easily have been the other way.

And to quote this man: Loosing a couple teeth is a small price to pay on the road to Olympic gold.
Teemu Selanne, of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, after he got a hockey stick right into his face. Ouch.
Now this one has the blood, sweat and tears...
It'll be a good game tonight. Nail-biter I'm sure. I so hope our guys can beat Russia, that would be thrilling. They came into the games as an underdog.

I've really enjoyed these Olympics in Torino. For one, the time difference is only one hour, makes for all day televising. I've learned so much I never knew I needed to know.
I've always enjoyed the figureskating most, but this time it has been a bit of a let-down for me. I think it's the whole aspect of all these teenagers skating... they lack the artistry, it's all about the jumps. In the ladies event last night I was rooting for Irina Slutskaya of Russia, age 27.
Ice dancing was the event I really wanted to watch, but due to another event, had to be either curling or hockey LOL, they only showed the last 5 pairs in the free skate.
Sigh.

But tonight.
I'm sure there will be blood, sweat and tears.
Hopefully glory too.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for all your well wishes and hugs.
They are all very appreciated.

Last week was a blur.
I took my mom to the ER on Wednesday and that was when we heard results on her tests. She has cancer which has spread. They are starting her with meds this week, now that her acute problem has been taken care of. She is in a positive mood which is good.
As for myself, I really really really am OK.
I'm one of those lucky people who doesn't have a panic button. My bro is the same way. We are both here for her and will share duties once my mom gets home from the hospital.
But we have also made a promise that it won't and can't take over our entire lives.

Naturally I got a massive headcold last week also (in fact I was sick when I drove my mom to the ER). I spent most of the week in my jammies on the couch under a blanket (or two) watching the Olympics (good to have them on the same time zone LOL).
I did manage to take a couple shots though.

This is what happens when you have a 5 year old hairdresser-wannabe in the house...

Just a reminder

Remember to be grateful for each day.

I'll most likely take a blogging break for a while.

My mom is very ill at the moment and she's facing a rough road ahead.

We are all a bit shell shocked.

Happy Valentine's Day!

To all my friends reading this.

*smooches*

Quite an ordinary tuesday here.
I've been working on a mini album for ebay (got to use some of this stash... geeezzzz) in between taking and picking Niina to and from preschool, shoveling snow, stalking the mailman, making snacks and watching the Olympics (well more listening than watching... the tv is on but in the next room LOL).
The mailman did bring one box today. I was hoping that it would be the fun box for the girls from auntie Tawny and uncle Mark, but alas, that one didn't show up yet. I'm confident it'll come tomorrow. The box I did get was filled with scrapping goods I had ordered, including an album to put my pages in, yipppeeee!

Niina has the neighbor girl over and Saara brought a classmate home so I have four girls wreaking havoc upstairs. In just a bit I'll walk to the grocery store to pick up some basics, like bread. And maybe chocolate, it is Valentine's Day after all :o)

How to make the older sibling jealous...

Oh did I get an earful of that yesterday!

Backtracking a bit to last week...

I got a nice big box of scrapbooking goodies from my friend Suzie who recently opened a scapbook store in Bend, OR. (If you are going that way, check it out, it's called Scrapbooking Outside the Box) I had promised to make some samples for her to display and there is nothing that inspires me more than new supplies. And kudos for Suzie for picking up stuff I didn't already have in my stash.
What really got me going were the K&Co Brenda Walton papers. YUM! Brilliant colors. Almost too pretty to use if you know what I mean... I could just sit and stare at them.

I had this big matchbox that we emptied a bit back and I decided to do something fun. Just a little album showing photos of Niina from birth to now.
Here is where the jealousy issue comes in.

Saara sees the box with a big 'N' on top.

S: HEY! How come I don't get one of these?
Me: Dear I haven't gotten around to make yours yet.
S: Why are you making Niina's before mine then? huh?
Me: sigh.
Because I had easy access to Niina's pics as they are all digital.
S: SO?
Me: For your baby pics I'd have to go dig around for negatives (which btw could be organized A LOT better)
S: Oh. Hmmpphhh.
Me: Besides I only had one of these boxes, we'll have to use up all the matches in the other box first.
S: It's soooo unfair.
Me: Yes dear.

I better start using those matches asap...

Here is the minialbum :o)








I'm really liking how this turned out.

What's on the plate for today?
I shoveled snow, enough of it thank you very much. (on that thought, hope you're not buried in NH, Adri!!!) I need to fold and iron laundry, paint Niina's toenails orange and perhaps get those yummy papers out again.

Friday, friday

I've been a total blog slacker this week.
It's just been a ordinary boring week. Nothing exciting going on. I'm in a bit of a funky mood.

I did visit The Body Shop, haven't been in one for ages. Saara wanted to pick out something smelling like strawberries for her best friend's birthday. While there I gave her a few hints for my birthday. Their shea (nut) body butter and almond oil hand rescue treatment would keep me happy. And at another store I found a scented candle to die for.. I know my sis is fainting right now, she knows I don't like scented candles... but this one... cafe caramel.... oh man...divine. I need to take my camera along next time to this store, the candles are pure color inspiration. I did find a few shots online just to give you an idea:

I always feel like a kid in a candy store there.. I want one of each please and thank you :o)

Sometime during the week I got lost on the Pottery Barn kids website (I blame Courtney as she tortures me by telling about her shopping trips, man oh man do I miss that store!). Is anyone willing to mail me the kids and teen catalogs? I need those for purely inspirational reasons and the buggers don't mail overseas... The pictures online are soooo small it really bugs me. I love the fresh colors and they have some great ideas I want to use when I do up Niina's room this coming summer. Niina and I were really partial to the colors in this room:

Doesn't it just look inviting? And look, BUTTERFLIES on the pillow! Me, I love the green (what is that, celery green?) and the rug. I might just have to paint Niina's furniture white, they are whitewashed now.

I also just looooooooooooooved these sheets... not hard as I'm a total ribbon nut. I think I need to use the idea for a bedcover...or curtains.


Niina's fave thing was this basket:


I'd also like to have a few hooks on the wall to hang her pretty butterfly wings from.

Well, as it is friday, I need to go show the vacuum some love, scrub toilets and stalk the mailman (I'm expecting two boxes, they better come today because I simply cannot wait until monday! waaahhhhh...)

Just lovely...

...do you know what happens when you walk outside in -22C (-8F) weather?

You take that first breath and start hacking like a chainsmoker. Basically your lungs are screaming at you "ARE YOU INSANE?". But they do recover. In a few minutes.
Then, after you've walked those few minutes, tears start streaming down your cheeks. Making your cheeks freeze even more. Then the tears start freezing in your lashes, so every time you bat your eyelids, the upper and lower lashes get stuck frozen together.
I know Courtney knows what I'm talking about...

I'm so over winter at this point, LOL!
Although it does look pretty through the window.


Sorry, it took me longer to finish our tour. I took Saturday off and we had a lovely lazy day. On Sunday we visited my in-law's, came home late, tired and over fed. Heheheee...

So up the stairs-

This is the upstairs tv/play room


Niina's room right ahead.


I'll be doing some painting here this coming summer. Pretty pinks and greens with a dash of yellow.

Quick look into the bathroom


Next up is Saara's room.

A boxed IKEA shelf waiting to be hung up and my my... she did make her bed this morning, although all the furry toys were left in a huge pile on the floor :oP

Through the double doors into our bedroom.

No bedpread... LOL.

Another room waiting for a facelift. After 6+ years of blue we are thinking chocolate, to warm it up a bit.

This is what the cold weather does to the window. Pretty... and telling us new insulation tape might be a good idea...